Get Cubed

With a new wine program and revolving menu of Italian specialties, Cube Marketplace isn't quite the no-reservations-needed, no-corkage café it used to be. But that's a good thing.

Over the years, the unfussy space has slowly morphed from a simple retail outpost for the Divine Pasta Company (still available here) to one of the city's perfect little candle-lit-dinner destinations. The menu has gone from panini and a few pastas to weekly changing dishes that showcase the best local ingredients touched with regional Italian influences.

Everything is seasonal and simply prepared. You might find a salad composed of crunchy yellow beans, snap beans and grilled corn ($8) that bursts with summer freshness. Sautéed dandelion greens and bright cherry tomatoes make a nice foil for tender, salty wild boar saltimbocca ($28). Pastas are Cube's forte: Get the silky sweet corn ravioli with bacon and brown butter ($11) before the season ends. Finish with the cobbler duo--one with sweet white peaches, the other oozing red berries ($8).

Dinner is still under the radar, but the marketplace continues to be a go-to for gourmet goods like Boccalone's nduja, Rancho Gordo's heirloom beans and grains, and cheese from around the globe.

Cube Marketplace and Cafe, 615 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood; 323-939-1148 or cubemarketplace.com